Gibson, 25, the No. 22 overall pick in the 2009 draft, will be competing for a spot in the Opening Day rotation. He had Tommy John ligament-replacement surgery on his right elbow Sept. 7, 2011, but proved he was healthy by going 3-2 with a 5.40 ERA in the Arizona Fall League.

Hicks, 23, was the No. 14 overall pick in the 2008 draft. He probably won’t start next April with the big league club, but he’ll be a prime candidate for a mid-season promotion. He’s a well-polished center fielder and a switch-hitter, who batted .286 with 13 home runs, 32 stolen bases and an .844 OPS (on-base-plus-slugging percentage) last year at Class AA New Britain.

Santana, 22, batted .286 with eight home runs, 17 stolen bases and a .739 OPS at Class A Fort Myers.

Pinto, 23, batted .295 with 14 home runs and an .844 OPS in 105 games between Class A and Class AA.

Hermsen, 22, the team’s minor-league pitcher of the year, opened the season at Fort Myers and wound up going 11-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 22 starts for Class AA New Britain.

Tonkin, 23, who is the brother-in-law of former Twins outfielder Jason Kubel, racked up 97 strikeouts this year in 69 1/3 innings between Class A Beloit and Class A Fort Myers.

Thielbar, 25, a lefthander who pitched for the St. Paul Saints in 2011, climbed quickly through the Twins minor-league system this year and posted a 3.57 ERA in 25 appearances for Class AAA Rochester.

Wood, 30, who signed a minor-league deal with the Twins earlier this month, posted a 2.19 ERA with 21 saves for Class AAA Indianapolis (Pirates).

MINOR LEAGUE SIGNEES

The Twins also announced 10 players who’ve been signed to minor-league deals with invitations to big league camp: pitchers Samuel Deduno, Shairon Martis, Luis Perdomo, Esmerling Vasquez and P.J. Walters; outfielders Brian Dinkleman and Wilkin Ramirez; infielders James Beresford and Deibinson Romero and catcher Eric Fryer.